Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Li Guanqi snorted. “Hard work? To me, what you call hard work is nothing but lies you tell yourselves. None of you know what true, bitter cultivation is, or how much sacrifice it demands.”

Li Guanqi removed his robes, revealing a muscular body marred by gruesome wounds. No one expected the extent of his injuries, many of which appeared fatal. The entire pavilion fell silent at the sight.

Everyone wondered what he had gone through.

The onlookers barely dared to breathe, much less challenge his words. Even Liu Man lowered her head in shame. Compared to the disciples of the Daxia Sword Sect, the Phoenix Lightning Sect disciples were far too complacent.

Li Guanqi pulled his robes back on, then cast a mocking glance at Tang Chuan. “I don’t know what you’re hoping to prove by challenging me. Maybe it’s just to feed your ego. But let me tell you this: the fact that I’m standing here proves I’m stronger than you.”

Tang Chuan’s chest heaved with every breath. The more nonchalant Li Guanqi appeared, the more it felt like he was throwing his weight around, using his superior cultivation to bully him.

Just as Tang Chuan was about to speak, Li Guanqi cut him off. “I don’t care what your reason is. You came here to disrupt my lecture, and I know no one’s gonna pay attention. I’ll give you a chance to prove yourself. Let’s duel.”

Tang Chuan’s eyes lit up. He hadn’t expected Li Guanqi to voice the very idea he’d been planning. He looked around quickly. “You all heard him! I wasn’t the one who suggested it.”

Li Guanqi curled his lip. “You were itching for this, and now you’re trying to play innocent? You’re supposed to be a man—just admit it. Enough nonsense! Where’s your sect’s martial stage? Let’s finish this quickly so I can get back to my lecture.”

Liu Man said, “Elder Li, I’ll take you there.”Li Guanqi nodded and followed her toward the martial stage at the back of the sect grounds.

Tang Chuan stood frozen. He couldn’t believe how smoothly his plan was unfolding. It felt unreal, as though Li Guanqi had just handed him the chance he wanted.

Ever since he’d heard about Li Guanqi’s presence in the sect, resentment had been festering within him. He wanted everyone to know he was stronger than Li Guanqi.

In his eyes, Li Guanqi’s fame had only come from the battle between the Daxia Sword Sect and the Purple Sun Pavilion. Back when Li Guanqi had just broken through to the Golden Core Realm, Tang Chuan was already at the peak of the mid Golden Core Realm. As such, he should’ve been the true number one disciple of the Phoenix Lightning Sect.

When word spread that Li Guanqi had become a ceremonial elder, curiosity swept through the sect. That curiosity gnawed at Tang Chuan, feeding his anger and jealousy.

Li Guanqi was speechless at Tang Chuan’s behavior. In every sect, there were always those with inflated egos who couldn’t bear the thought of someone being stronger than them. They’d look for any excuse to show off in front of their juniors.

However, the other disciples in the pavilion did not care that much. They just wanted to watch the show.

The crowd rushed excitedly to the martial stage. Along the way, more and more disciples joined them.

News of the duel spread like wildfire. Even the elders who weren’t teaching classes rushed over, having heard that the new elder was about to face the strongest disciple of the inner sect.

It had been years since the martial stage was last used, as open conflict was rare in such a complacent environment. Someone had already swept it clean of dust before the crowd arrived.

Li Guanqi appeared on the martial stage in a flash of teleportation. The crowd erupted in cheers, while the elders watching from above narrowed their eyes. They realized it was the trademark ability of Nascent Soul Realm cultivators—teleportation.

The rumors were true. Li Guanqi, barely eighteen, really was a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. Many were shaken to the core. He was terrifyingly gifted.

Whoosh!

Tang Chuan leaped onto the stage with a cool stance, drawing excited squeals from many female disciples in the audience.

He was decent-looking, and as the inner sect’s strongest disciple, he had many admirers. But he quickly sensed something was wrong with the cheers.

“Ahhhhhh! You’re so handsome!”

“I’m dead! I’m dead! Oh my goodness! Elder Li is so handsome!”

“Wowwwww! He’s Li Guanqi? He’s so much better looking than Tang Chuan! I’ll take him even if he’s blind!”

“Wahhhh! Li Guanqi! Li Guanqi! I love you!”

Tang Chuan’s face darkened. He could not believe that the girls who usually swooned over him were now cheering for Li Guanqi. Not only that, but the girls had brought over a leather drum and started to bang on it.

The female cultivators, their eyes shining, continued to cheer for Li Guanqi.

Even Li Guanqi felt embarrassed. He hadn’t expected that kind of attention. Glancing at Tang Chuan sulking across from him, he grinned. “I won’t bully you, so I’ll suppress my cultivation level. But since we’re already on stage, shouldn’t we make a bet?”

Tang Chuan snickered. “Of course!”

“Oh, you seem like you’ve thought about it! Tell me your idea.”

A mischievous glint flashed in Tang Chuan’s eyes. He spread his legs and pointed at his crotch. “If you lose, you’ll have to crawl between my legs and shout, ‘I am a dog!’”

Li Guanqi’s eyes flashed coldly. “Oh? Crawl through your legs while yelling that you’re a dog?”

The crowd froze for a moment, then erupted into laughter.